The paradigm shift that I am currently thinking about writing my essay on is the amount and type of involvement people think the government should have in their everyday lives. Thousands of years ago it was accepted across virtually every culture (with certain notable exceptions such as Athens and Rome when it was a republic) that there be a ruler with absolute authority over his subject. To be fair, a large reason for this was the idea of divine right; or that rulers were chosen by the gods and therefore should have ultimate power. However, the fact remains that it took thousands of years before even the concept of checking the power of a king or emperor was conceived.

Over time new branches of government were created, such as the parliament in Britain, and along with their creation came the checks and balances they brought. With this came a shift in the mindset of the general populace, where they still viewed the aristocracy as being superior but not to the same extent as previously. Furthermore, with the emergence of democracy and the idea of a presidency, any previous reverence that the general population held towards its leaders vanished due to the fact that they change so often and at the whims of the people.

To research this I would have to look at ancient cultures and their attitudes and ideas about government. Most likely I would focus on Europe and the U.S (since for most of its history it was primarily populated by European immigrants) so I could establish a better and more consistent timeline. I would also try to analyze the way that American society has shifted over the last few centuries in terms of how much power we want to give the government over our personal lives.